


A Lesson in Ruling

by AR_Redux



Series: The Education of Anna of Arendelle [3]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:27:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AR_Redux/pseuds/AR_Redux
Summary: Anna is now the Queen, but that doesn't mean always getting her way.  It does, however, have a few perks.Set shortly after Frozen II, works as a standalone.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Series: The Education of Anna of Arendelle [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824778
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	A Lesson in Ruling

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve stopped looking at these as one shots, so much as mini stories. It’s one really long flow of thought with nowhere I can ever find a break, so I just keep going. It’s good times. You can’t say I didn’t warn you. This particular one was mentioned in Part IV.
> 
> This story contains smut. I don't recommend reading the last half at work.

It had only been a month since they had returned from the Enchanted Forest, but so much had changed in the short period of time.

Anna’s coronation had been more scaled back than Elsa’s had been. The ceremony in the church was small and private, Anna not wanting to give the perception that she was reveling in her sister’s abdication. The beautiful bronze statue of her parents, created with a speed that impressed everyone involved, was unveiled the same afternoon, and the party that had followed reminded Kristoff more of her birthday celebrations than a coronation.

It had been what Anna had wanted, though. She had spent her first month as an uncrowned monarch in constant correspondence with Elsa, trying to get everything sorted before the coronation. It had been tricky, but it had gone as smoothly as could be hoped.

Now, she was officially the Queen of Arendelle, and it made Kristoff a little dizzy to think about. His Anna, the same woman who liked to sleep well into the middle of the morning, had leapt out of bed at Kai’s knock early that morning, before the sun had crested the horizon, and headed off to meeting after meeting. With little time before winter settled in, she needed to meet as many people and put out any fires as quickly as possible.

It hadn’t been difficult to keep himself occupied during her long, busy days. Final harvests and shipments had been arranged, the council suddenly much more inclined than usual to drag him into their meetings about road conditions and shipping efficiency, and he had spent half his day behind a mounting pile of paperwork that made his eyes cross.

The rest of the day had been spent approving Anna’s wedding plans. Why he’d needed to was beyond him, but he wasn’t trying to make waves, so he’d nodded and pasted on a smile as he was shown place settings and napkins for their wedding breakfast.

Not having seen Anna all day, he immediately bypassed his own room for hers. With her new role came a shift in the number of people tending to her in the castle. Her needs were primarily taken care of by Kai and Gerda, as they always had, but even more so than before. Maids no longer assumed the responsibility of taking care of her needs, of cleaning up after her. Her chambers were tended directly by Gerda, breakfast only ever brought by herself or Kai.

There were four soldiers who formed her guard, the ones who had been in the Enchanted Forest and who had been stationed at her door ever since. During the day, Mattias was her shadow. Whatever she needed, Mattias provided, whether it was a strong cup of coffee or advice on how to handle a neighbor’s valid concern on stability in a country that would be coronating two monarchs in under five years.

All of them were sworn, Mattias had insisted, to keep her confidence, as spending so much time near their Queen could result in their knowledge of all kinds of compromising information. They kept silent on Anna’s breakdowns, her annoyed rants, and most of all, they never breathed a word that the Queen’s fiancé had only spent two or three nights of the past month in his own room.

Kristoff still used his own room for changing, coming and going quietly in the mornings. He had always been self sufficient, never caring to have servants guard his door, make his bed, or tidy his room. The only time they ever entered was for dirty laundry, which when cleaned he had always put away himself. None of them seemed to notice his lack of presence, and he never heard a word spoken on it when he waited for a moment before interrupting any conversation between the castle staff before making himself known.

Anna’s new quarters were much more isolated, giving her the privacy as Queen that they had always lacked. There were no other rooms down the long hall, which provided more space between the doors and the guards. Certainly, there wasn't enough that a scream or cry for help couldn’t be heard, but the moans that he had once feared would give them away certainly couldn’t.

Now, as he turned the opposite direction from his room, he could feel the stress start to slowly drain with his increasing proximity toward her. Reaching back, he rubbed a hand under his shirt at the back of his neck. It ached from so much time spent in one or two positions for most of the day, and all he wanted was to crawl into bed with Anna and relax.

The mustached guard at the door did not shift his gaze from the portrait they seemed trained on as Kristoff passed. He merely offered a small nod, as he had the first time Kristoff had come around the corner, unthinking, and frozen in his footsteps.

Kristoff didn’t speak, instead offering his own nod as he reached for the handle, letting himself into the enclosed hall. A few long strides led him to the door to the bedchamber, itself, and he opened and closed it gently, not sure if Anna would still be awake. Not seeing her, he paused for a moment before his ears detected the soft movements of water coming from her dressing room.

Anna had always loved baths, and it was no surprise to find her there now. He gave his footsteps weight to allow her to know he was here, but she didn’t open her eyes when he walked into the room. Her aqua eyes were closed, face relaxed as she sat as low as she could, her chin just above the water. A little smile tugged on her lips, and he knew she was aware of his presence.

“Hey.” He watched the smile quirk a little more at the sound of his voice. “How was your first day?”

At this, she opened one eye, expression suddenly wry. “Wanna switch jobs?”

“Not a chance in hell.” But he understood what he meant, and offered her a commiserating smile. His days were certainly busier and more stressful now, so hers had to be, as well.

As he tugged away his vest, he noticed her other eye pop open. Any feelings of self-consciousness had disappeared years ago, and he chortled at the way she watched, unashamedly taking in the show that was him getting undressed. When he turned his back, tossing his vest and shirt off onto the chaise, he felt her eyes on him from where she waited in the steaming, fragrant water. Without any kind of ceremony, he unfastled the sash at his waist, loosening the pants as he kicked away his boots. When he turned back around, dropping his remaining clothing to his feet and kicking it over to join the rest, he found her eyes filled with an amazing mix of love, lust, and relief.

Naked, he crossed toward her, motioning slightly with his hand. “Scoot,” he ordered, watching as she shifted forward, wrapping her arms momentarily around her knees.

She giggled when the water of the massive tub almost went over the top at the addition of his body, but it wasn’t his fault that she liked to fill the thing to the brim for just herself.

The scent of the water and her freshly washed hair was so uniquely Anna, and he breathed it in as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into him. Her reaction was immediate, and she leaned against his chest, molding perfectly against him, as he settled his legs around her. He pressed his lips against her hair, inhaling deeply again, letting his lips make their way past his favorite spots before finally settling in the crook of her neck. She made a sweet little sigh as he worked, and he marveled for what felt like the ten thousandth time that he was the only one would ever see her like this.

“Long day?” he finally asked, not leaving his post at her neck. He had long since discovered a pattern of freckles there, one that looked like the little bear in the night sky, and he was determined to greet each one in turn.

“Mmmhmm.” Her head lolled back against one of his shoulders, making the constellation on her skin that much easier to access. “So many old guys to meet.”

“Part of the job, I guess,” he replied with a laugh, knowing the boring meetings were her least favorite.

One of her hands emerged from the water to rest on his arm, fingers toying with the blonde hair there. “And Mattias had an answer for me.”

“Oh?” He generally cared about whatever the general had to say, but in this matter, his opinion meant very little.

Elsa’s last duty as Queen had been to promote Mattias to the much more fitting rank of general. It was the least she could do, she’d explained, before turning to Kristoff, a smirk on her face, and declaring him Lord Kristoff of Arendelle. Again, she’d said, he’d saved her sister from death twice in the space of an hour. Lording him was the smallest thing she could do.

Unfortunately, it also meant he could potentially be named as King, he’d been informed. His grimace had not gone unnoticed by Anna, and she’d said she would discuss with Mattias an appropriate title for him as her husband.

“Prince Consort.” He tried not to sigh in resignation, continuing his study of the freckles he so dearly loved, grateful at least that he wouldn’t have to deal with being a commoner turned King. “We’ll have the wedding, then a quick ceremony to make it one hundred percent official.” She raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. “I think you're going to have to wear the suit again.” The look in her eyes told him she sympathised.

“I'm going to have to wear it a lot.” Now the sigh came out. He wasn’t nuts about it, but if it meant less trouble for Anna to have a husband who people straightened to meet, it would be worth it.

Anna was always worth it.

“If it makes you feel any better, you’ll outrank everybody but me.”

It did not. “I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or more apprehensive.” He sighed again, leaving the freckles to rest his chin on her shoulder. “Can't I just stay lorded and call it a day?”

“You could have, if I weren't the Queen.” Turning, she pressed her lips against his chin, a little apprehension in her voice. “I know that was never the plan. You can still run away if you want.”

He blinked. That wasn’t what he wanted at all. “I may not want a royal title, but I'll take it if it means I'm married to you. It ultimately doesn't matter that much, in comparison. I love you. I just want to marry you, that's all I care about.” Sitting back up, he dropped another kiss onto the top of her head.

When she turned, moving to straddle him, he saw the happiness and love in her eyes, and he met her lips with his as she leaned in. It was quiet for a bit after that, just the two of them sharing lazy kisses while he fingered the damp hair just above where his hands rested. Her breasts were pressed to his chest now, and when she finally pulled away, he was so taken by her beauty he almost didn’t hear her voice.

“I wish we could get married tomorrow.” 

“Mmmm.” Turning his head, he found her ear and the two little freckles that he loved to kiss. “At least we have this massive tub in the meantime. It's better than mine, even.” Kissing wasn’t enough, he decided, pulling her earlobe between his lips and causing a small moan to slip from her lips. “And three weeks isn't that long. It'll be here before you're even ready.”

He could feel her where she was pressed against him, knew she was quickly becoming more and more aroused. Ten minutes in a bath with her was enough for him to feel sufficiently clean, and sufficiently ready to toss her onto the bed and worship her with his face buried between her legs, enough to make him ready for the feeling of her fingers in his hair and his name slipping from her lips. He made his way back down, past the place he loved on her ears, past the constellations of the little bear and the eagle, then back up to the little triad of freckles behind her ear. 

“Oh, I'm ready.” She was trying hard to keep her voice steady, but he heard the slight quaver in it as she spoke. Smirking against her skin, he kept at his motions, knowing it would undo her. “Seriously. Done. Everything's ready to go, just need to speed through the next three weeks.”

“I just want the honeymoon. A week away from everybody sounds pretty great right now.” Fuck, being inside her sounded amazing. He wondered, not for the first time, if finally making love to Anna as completely as he’d always dreamed would actually kill him.

But what a way to go. 

Anna giggled. “Of course you do.” Abandoning her neck, Kristoff lowered his head, pulling a nipple between his lips, loving the vibration of another soft moan through her chest and into his lips. “God, I love you.” 

“Anna,” he mumbled, not willing to give up his task but feeling a sudden need to tease her, he swatted her ass in a motion delayed and softened by the water, making her giggle. “We've been over this before. My name is Kristoff. Not God, not Christopher, Kristoff. Get it right, woman.” 

“That's Queen Woman to you.” She actually managed to sound a little haughty, but her sparkling eyes, like the fjord on a summer day of warm sun, gave her away. 

“So sorry, Your Majesty. Can you forgive me?” He released her breast to press a quick kiss to her lips, watching her smile grow. 

“Maybe, if you do something for me.” The arms around his neck tightened slightly. 

“Anything.” 

Fingers toyed with the hair at the base of his neck. “Take me to bed.”

He gave her a searing kiss, feeling himself go almost breathless at the sensation of how perfect that sounded right now.

Shedding water like a pair of seals, he lifted her to her feet while she giggled with delight. He hurriedly found towels, wrapping one around his waist and using the other to quickly dry her from head to toe.

Her lithe, nude body was easy to lift up into his arms. Her fingers threaded into his hair again as her legs wrapped around his waist, her full lips pressing against his with sudden desperation. Stepping over the threshold to her bedchamber, he carried her effortlessly to the bed, easing her down onto it before climbing up himself. Her hands were strong on his shoulders as she pulled him atop her, and he followed willingly, finding himself desperate to feel skin on skin. It was difficult, but he raised his hips enough to allow her insistent little fingers to tug away and toss aside his towel.

Despite the late autumn chill, the heat between them felt like it was enough to melt ice like the sun on a hot summer day. Their tongues dueled for dominance as hands wandered feverishly, finding the sensitive places they had long since discovered.

He was just raising up slightly, desperate for the taste of her body under his lips, when she whispered, “I want you.”

Grinning, he pushed himself up on his hands, feeling his bangs brushing against his forehead, already damp from sweat. “You’ve got me.”

Her blue eyes rolled and her head, which had lifted slightly in an attempt to follow his lips, collapsed back onto her pillows in exasperation. “That’s not what I meant.”

From time to time, Anna would have moments where her desire for his body inside hers equaled his own, even surpassed it. Though it broke his heart, even baffled him, he always turned her down, each time trying to make it clear that it wasn’t lack of desire that kept him from taking her fully.

The two years of their physical relationship had seen growth, much as they had grown, themselves. He wasn't the same angry young man who had happened on the feisty princess in a party dress, and she wasn’t the same innocent girl with doe eyes who threw bags of carrots at his head as a bribe.

It was good, though, that they weren’t the same. He wasn’t so grumpy, though it did sometimes linger. He never remembered a time when he smiled so freely and so often as he did since meeting Anna. He thought about things like wedding rings and place settings and what would make her happy. In return, she was, though still highly impulsive, a little slower to act than she had once been when they’d first crossed paths. It affected her in all ways, except their love life.

She had never stopped trying to break him.

Those same two years, however, had been spent with an ear keener to pick up new information than he had ever been before. He had learned through listening, once or twice through honest advice from one of the handful of harvesters he trusted not to blab, that he was, in fact, correct that uninhibited love making would likely lead to compromising her. There were methods, he had learned, but they were faulty when used incorrectly. His mind had flashed back to when, with shame, he vaguely recalled something of the sort being used with the nameless, faceless women he'd once used, however they had offered themselves, for his own devices. He’d never had the sense to ask about it before, not even knowing what it was called, but the old harvester who had clued him in informed him with a laugh that he and his wife had used one such implement incorrectly, thus resulting in a fifth child.

And though Arendelle was full of kind, progressive citizens, even they would be shocked, at the very least, by their princess having a bastard child with a low man of no title. He’d grown up in an orphanage with many such children, and their lives hadn’t been easy. While giving up their child would never be an option to him, never in a thousand lifetimes would he desire to put Anna through that unnecessarily. So he would wait. 

Even now, though she was almost his wife. Certainly that would be her argument. He still wasn’t sure how to counter it, but he knew it had to be coming as their wedding grew closer.

Her many attempts at this act had also taught her to read his face, and Kristoff tried to damp down an amused smile as she shifted under him, suddenly strictly business. Now laughing outright, trying to keep his voice low, he rolled off onto her side as she pressed at his chest so she could sit herself up.

“Okay, hear me out.” The chin went up and the eyes narrowed slightly and suddenly he was in bed with Queen Anna. “I’m twenty one. I’m the _Queen_ of Arendelle. There’s nobody outside that door that doesn’t know what’s going on in here, and there’s really nothing anybody can do to stop me. No one’s going to say anything in the morning when you walk out in the same clothes you were wearing the night before, and haven’t you noticed how anyone between your room and mine has mysteriously disappeared or been relocated ever so slightly?”

Kristoff blinked. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but that wasn’t it. “Okay, so, two things.” He ran a hand distractedly through his hair as he pushed himself up to sitting at her side. “One, what do you mean about them not knowing what’s going on in here, and two, what the hell?” He blinked again, more rapidly this time, as he realized the truth of the last part of her question. “When did they move? _Why_ did they move?”

“Mattias thought it would be a good idea.” He was taken aback at her matter-of-fact tone of voice and expression. “Mattias was my father’s guard, but he was part of my grandfather’s larger one before that. I don’t think he ever knew just how horrible the old man was,” Anna continued, her nose scrunching delicately.

“So,” Kristoff asked slowly, turning the thought over in his head, “does Mattias _know?_ The guy at the end of your hall there, does he know?”

“The guards know you’re allowed in my bedchamber,” she said simply. “Mattias knows everything else.”

There was silence for a long moment, and Anna eventually pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Knows everything,” Kristoff repeated, “like, _everything?”_

“Well,” she said slowly, seeming to be trying to choose her words carefully, “when we got back, he wanted to go over logistics for my move into Elsa’s room. There have always been extra guards for the monarch, and he wanted to know what I wanted. You know, somebody at the end of the hall door or right outside my bedroom. Right outside didn’t seem like a good idea, and when I was hesitant, he was curious.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“He asked if anyone other than me would be coming and going,” she recalled, a smile tugging up her lips again. “I think he knew. I didn’t tell him everything, not at first, just that sometimes I’m not alone and I’d appreciate my privacy. That was when he suggested shifting the servants on hall duty. The guards won’t say a word unless we do something wildly illegal,” she reiterated. “They’re sworn to protect the family, whether it’s from bodily harm or sordid rumors. The servants are who you have to watch out for.”

“So Mattias _doesn’t_ know everything?”

Her lip was back between her teeth, and he could feel the anxiety rolling off her in waves. “So, that led to a whole different conversation. He was very clear that he wasn’t trying to pry, just trying not to be caught off guard. I said we were intimate, but not in, you know,” she clarified, lowering her voice, “in the _full_ sense.”

The fact that anyone, other than perhaps Elsa, knew about their private relations was a little unsettling, and he could feel the expression of shock on his face. “And what did he say to that?”

Anna laughed. “He said we’re being smart. Then he said he would discuss our privacy with the guards again, make sure they remember that any damaging rumors that have one of them at the source means they would be immediately dismissed and removed from Arendelle, no pension, nothing other than what they already have.”

“Removed from Arendelle?”

“That’s the punishment for breaking their vow,” Anna said, and her eyes were wide. “It’s some old law, and there hasn’t been the need to enforce it since it took effect. It’s harsh, but it’s supposed to be.”

“So, the hall guards…” 

“Mattias said he wouldn’t go into detail with them, but you’re here every night.” Anna grinned. “I’m sure they’re smart enough to put two and two together.”

“Huh.” 

Her smile faded as she began to fiddle with her hair. “Are you mad?”

“No,” he said honestly, trying to decide exactly how he felt. “A little surprised. I wish you’d felt like you could have told me sooner, but really, it’s only been a few weeks. And Mattias did mention once that they’re sworn to silence.” Then Kristoff recalled the mischievous glint in the older man’s eyes when he’d explained this. “Huh. I guess he does know. He didn’t even tell _me_ he knew.”

“I know this isn’t what you signed up for.” Anna sighed softly, scooting a little closer to take his hand and rest her head against his shoulder. “I didn't either, really. I thought Elsa would be here forever, but she’s never really been happy, you know? I couldn’t just tell her no.”

“I understand.” Giving her hand a squeeze, he lifted it to his lips. “You love her. You want what’s best for her.”

A soft smile returned to her face, melting the furrowed brow that had gradually appeared. “I love you so much.” Her free hand reached up to touch his face, gently cupping his cheek. “I keep waiting to wake up and you’re gone.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” But he frowned. “Why do you keep thinking I’m going to leave? If I was going to get out of here, I would have done it years ago, but to be honest, it’s never once crossed my mind.”

The furrowed brow was back again, and though Kristoff hated it, he felt like she was close to finally admitting something to him, something deeply buried and never voiced to him.

“Anna?” he chivvied gently. “Talk to me baby, please.” Dropping her hand, he took her own face in his hands, running his thumbs over her cheeks, pressing his lips to her forehead, feeling the frown melt. “Just be honest with me. I promise, I will still love you. Hell, I’ll probably love you more.”

Anna laughed weakly. “Promise?”

Pressing his forehead against hers, he whispered softly, “I promise, Anna. On my life.”

Taking a shuddering breath, she whispered, “I was a princess, and now I’m a queen. I live in a castle, and I’m surrounded by everything possible that’s the opposite of what you’re used to and what you wanted out of life.” A single tear trekked down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I guess I just keep waiting for you to decide it’s too much.”

“Baby,” he breathed, wiping away a few more tears that made their way down her face. “I also thought I’d die alone. Sometimes being wrong is a good thing. I was wrong about so many things before I met you, and I needed you to find that out. You’re the best thing to happen to me. And I love you,” he reminded her. “I can’t just walk away and find somebody to replace you. You might be the Queen, but you’re still my Anna, and you’re irreplaceable.” 

“Even though I can be a distracted mess?”

“Yep.” He kissed the top of her nose before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

He felt her smile against his shoulder. “Even though sometimes you have to get all dressed up in clothes that ride up your ass?”

“Hey, I volunteered to put that thing on.”

It was quiet while they held each other, Anna steadying out her breathing while Kristoff played with her gradually drying hair. Eventually, one of his hands strayed, finding the soft skin at the small of her back, stroking softly as she shuddered lightly against him. 

“Kristoff,” she whispered, and her voice had gone all husky. She pulled back slightly to look up at him. “Kiss me. Please.”

They were simple directions to follow, and he found himself being pulled back down onto the bed, on top of her, lips dancing and caressing, finding her ears again, the configurations of her freckles. Her breath was warm against the lips that pressed against the crown of his head.

“Kristoff,” she was whispering again, but he was distracted by her breasts. Her head fell back against the pillows again, and her voice was breathless when she whispered, “Kristoff, _please.”_

Then her legs were spreading wider to accommodate him, hips shifting so they were even closer. That beautiful feeling of almost forgetting how to breathe swept through him, and he gasped against her, straightening back up to take her lips again.

The heat of her nearly overwhelmed him. He was so close, he could _feel_ her. A shift of his hips in the opposite direction would put him… 

“I want you inside me.” He wasn’t the only one out of breath, it seemed. Her hands slid lower, grasping his ass. “Nobody can tell me no,” she murmured. “And Queens have had lovers before.”

A small voice in the back of his mind, one that had lived there for some years but that he never listened to, suddenly inclined him to hear her out instead of giving her his usual refusal.

_She’s got a point…_

It didn’t always turn out so well.

_But they weren’t getting married in three weeks. Nobody would ever know…_

As if she could hear that voice, Anna added softly, almost inaudible, “It’s three weeks, Kristoff. Nobody would ever know. We’d just be that young, virile couple everybody hopes we will be.”

_You know she’ll feel like heaven…_

One of her hands left his ass, dragging her fingernails slowly up his abdomen and chest then back down, landing between his legs to the erection that now painfully brushed against her heat. He gasped when she rolled her hips, letting him feel against his base just how soaked she already was—God, was she actually dripping?

 _You want to take her,_ the little voice chimed. _She wants you to. She’s been asking you for years. How long will she keep waiting?_

“Three weeks,” he mumbled, not really realizing he’d given voice to the words.

“Exactly.” It never ceased to amaze him how much power she actually held over him. “I don’t want to wait anymore, and who says we have to?”

_Yeah, who says? You can have her right now. There’s nothing to worry about…_

“Please,” she whimpered, rolling her hips again. He was pretty sure his eyes actually crossed when the tip of his shaft caught against her clit.

_You’re so close already, just do it. She wants it…_

But did he?

_Of course you do, you moron!_

It wouldn’t be his first time, even though it was hers. He wanted it to be special. Perfect.

_You’re not going to last five minutes, there’s no way it’s going to be perfect._

Not true, he thought. He could make her finish in under three. He prided himself on knowing what she wanted, and sometimes, three minutes was all they had.

_So, perfect!_

Was it, though? Was it perfect? Would she ever regret not waiting just a few weeks?

_Probably not._

But the voice lost a little of its confidence. There was never any guarantee of the future, he knew that.

_Exactly, you could die out on the ice tomorrow! She wants you, take her now!_

He hadn’t considered her becoming pregnant and then dying in the next three weeks.

_On second thought, you’re not going to die. No one lets you get close enough to be at risk anymore, anyway._

So what was the harm in waiting?

“Honey?” Kristoff blinked, realizing that Anna had stopped moving and was looking at him with resignation. “You don’t want to. Nevermind.”

To his surprise, she pushed him completely away, rolling onto her side with her back to him. He could hear a few sniffles, and he sighed heavily.

“Anna.” Sliding down the bed, he wrapped himself around her from behind. “Does that feel like I don’t want to?”

“I just don’t understand…” She swiped at her face, looking annoyed with her own tears as she dried her hand on the sheets.

“God, Anna,” he groaned, and she gasped, rolling her ass as he slid between her thighs. “You have no idea how badly I want to be inside you right now.” Her head lolled about her shoulders as he reached forward, finding her still dripping with her arousal. Her legs spread instantly, and he knew she still wanted it.

“So be inside me.” The words were whispered with a shyness he hadn’t seen in years, not since that first night when she had let him pet her soft skin.

The little voice was cheering them on, and _fuck,_ did he want to listen.

But the words bubbled out anyway. “You’re sure? We’ve made it this long. Don’t you just want to wait?”

There was another pause, this one short. “So, I’m confused. You do want to, or you don’t?”

“No, I want to!” He shifted when she returned to her back, looking up at him with an exasperated expression on his face.

“Then why—”

“Because I love you,” he said, making sure his voice was sincere. “Whether we do it or don’t tonight, I just want to make sure you’re sure. I don’t want you to look back in five years and wish you’d waited.”

Anna’s blue eyes narrowed as she shifted her gaze to the ceiling. She seemed to consider it for a minute. “So, you’re not saying no…”

_Of course you’re not, you idiot! You’re going to make her change her mind again!_

Was that such a bad thing?

_You’re going to have blue balls soon…_

“I’m saying, whatever you want, I want.” He almost regretted his words, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to. If Anna was hesitant at all, that was decision enough for him. “It’s your call.”

“Come here.” Her voice was low and raspy again as she pulled him back on top of her.

_Yes!_

He was back between her legs again, and this time, she wrapped them tightly around his waist. His erection was between them now, closer than he’d ever been, but he knew ramming himself right in probably wasn’t a good idea.

Instead, he managed to get his hand between them, reaching down to slip two fingers easily into her, then a third. Throwing back her head, she gave a long, low moan, her back arching and pressing herself closer to him. Their tongues tangled again even as she cried out against him when his thumb brushed against the little bundle of nerves above his fingers.

 _Do it now,_ the little voice implored. _She’s ready…_

He didn’t want to rush things, didn’t want to hurt her, didn’t want her to second guess.

But she wanted this, and if she was truly sure… 

_Stop being so fucking noble…_

Then, to his surprise, just as he was maneuvering himself into position and about to ask her one last time if she was absolutely sure this was what she wanted, her bottom lip went back between her teeth.

“Anna?” He froze above her, cock in hand, suddenly feeling like he was about to explode.

Then she shook her head. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.” A forced look of resolve came over her face, not meeting her eyes, which didn’t quite meet his. “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

 _Fuck._ Even the little voice recognized the lie.

“No, you’re not.” Letting go of himself, he sat back on his heels, knees between the spread legs that lowered on either side of him.

“Yes, I am.” Now she was being stubborn. Fantastic.

“That doesn’t sound ready.” Reaching down, he grasped the sheet, wiping at his fingers. “Why are you lying?”

“I’m not…” She still wasn’t meeting his eyes as her face set in stone. Gnawing at her lip for a minute, she seemed to be deeply thinking about something. Then, “God damn it!” Her little fists slammed down to the bed and he actually jumped, just a bit. A deep scowl set into her face. “Why the _hell_ do you have to be right all the time?”

“I’m wrong sometimes,” he reminded her. “I wanted to leave you in the woods, but Sven made me take you.”

She finally looked at him, blinking in shock. For a long moment, she just stared, azure eyes wide, then she burst out laughing.

“So the only reason,” she managed, clutching at her sides as she cackled below him, “you’re here in the first place, the only reason you’re in my bed, is because of _Sven?”_

He grinned widely, glad she was finally more herself than the distracted Queen Anna she had been over the last few weeks. In fact, now that he thought about it, the only time these days that she seemed most herself was when they were alone or when it was only Elsa or Mattias around. “I mean, I was only a little serious. In my defense, my sled had just been completely destroyed and I almost fell in after it, so I was kind of annoyed with you right then. If we’re being serious, I would have made it about five minutes before feeling like an ass and turning around. But Sven said we needed to go with you,” she was still giggling when he poked her sides, “and I knew he was right, so off we went.”

“That’s worse than you calling me crazy.” She had finally calmed a little, but the smile still danced on her lips and in her eyes. “Do you regret it?”

“Never,” he insisted, crawling back to sit again next to her. She burrowed into his side again, and he rested an arm over her shoulders. “Best decision I ever made.”

“Because you love me.” Her voice wasn't teasing, but pragmatic.

“Even when I’m not the world’s greatest communicator,” she gave one loud laugh at that, and he rolled his eyes before continuing, “even when I can be a grumpy son of a bitch, I’m still so in love with you it almost hurts.”

“Really?”

“Do _you_ love _me_ that much?” He knew the answer, but found himself needing her to hear it.

“Of course I do.” Again, matter-of-factly. “Why would I stop?”

“Because I’m not a great communicator and I can be a grumpy son of a bitch.” He winked. “Obviously.”

Anna released another drawn out sigh, this time looking at him as she asked, “But doesn’t this drive you crazy? Don’t you ever want to just run off with some unattached floozie who will let you do whatever you want?” Her voice was sarcastic, but he knew this was a worry for her.

“Anna,” he said, and he knew he sounded placating, but it couldn’t be helped. “Do you realize how many times we could have done this by now? If I was the kind of person who would run off with some ‘floozie’—which,” he added, grinning a little, “is a great word choice—just to get it out of my system, don’t you think I’d be the same kind of person who would just take whatever he wanted from you, only to leave you high and dry the minute things got rough?”

“I guess.” She rolled onto her side to face him, though her eyes were elsewhere again. Her fingers were toying with his chest hair as she shrugged.

“Do you think I would ever do that to you?”

He was met with a shake of her head and a tear from the corner of one eye. “Never.” A shaky breath was inhaled into her lungs.

“And I never would,” he agreed, reaching for her free hand. “Anna, I love you. _I’m_ the one telling _you_ no, you know. If anybody’s running off for some side of beef, it would be you.”

Another little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “But I don’t want anybody else.” Her eyes and expression reminded him of the naive girl he’d met three years ago, except that the naivete in her voice had been replaced by true conviction. 

“And neither do I. I just want you, Anna.”

“Just not right now.” Her eyes gazed up at him, and he saw a little accusation there. “You can say it. I won’t be mad at you. I’m not going to beat it out of you, but still.”

“Not now,” he affirmed, then added, “not _yet._ I just want it to be as perfect as it can, and I don’t think this is it. You really wanna worry about having to keep down the volume?”

Her tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now, but she was smiling. “I can’t wait to marry you,” she whispered, flattening her hand over his heart. “You’re going to be my husband.”

“And you’re gonna be my wife.” Kissing her cheeks, he tried to brush away as many tears as he could, but it only seemed to make her cry harder. It wasn’t long before she was full on sobbing.

“Honey, when was the last time you just let yourself cry?” Kristoff wondered if, since taking on her new role, she had let herself have a good, ugly cry, the kind that really healed her, though he knew she hated how her face looked afterward. He had never cared. Blotchy face and snotty nose or not, she was always beautiful to him. 

“I…” The sound of snot being snorted back up her nose almost made him cringe, but he kept his face even, rubbing lightly at her shoulder. “Not since… Not since… Oh, my God,” she shrieked, “what the hell?”

Another long, high pitched wail left her lips, and he chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around her. “You just cry, baby,” he murmured. “Get it out. I know it’s hard, I know you’re frustrated—”

“Oh, Jesus, would you just stop? You’re making it—” She hiccuped around another wail. “You’re making it so much worse!”

He tried and failed at not laughing, but he kept his chortles low. For several long minutes, Anna moaned and wailed and let fly a rather impressive number of obscenities. It was so loud, so consuming, that neither of them noticed the first knock on the door, quiet as it was.

She was gasping for breath and about to let loose again when the second sounded, this one loud and forceful. 

“Your Majesty!” Both of their eyes widened in shock at the door and the sound of the voice of the guard. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

For a moment, neither of them moved, or even dared to breathe, then Anna heard the jingle of keys from outside.

“I’m fine!” she called out, managing to sound assertive, even though tears still flowed down her face. “I just cry sometimes, I’m good!”

There was a pause, then, “You’re not in any distress?”

“Of course I’m in distress,” she barked out, “I’m crying! Haven’t you ever heard someone cry cathartically?”

“You’re quite sure you’re not hurt, ma’am?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” she grumbled.

To Kristoff’s absolute shock, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, brushing away tears as she stalked over to where her nightgown had been laid out for the evening. Throwing it on, she stomped toward the door, and he scrambled to make sure he was well covered. He needn’t have bothered, as she slipped out into the hallway by only opening the door enough to allow her to exit, not enough that he was ever in view, then closed it behind her.

He couldn’t hear what was being said as she murmured something to the guard, but the man eventually made a reply that sounded like some kind of affirmative that was followed by a clearly audible apology.

“You’re only doing your job,” Anna said, and he realized she had been keeping her voice low to avoid him hearing. “I completely understand. You may return to your post. And I assume,” she added, voice regal, “that you won’t be mentioning this to anyone.”

“Not a word to a soul living or dead, Your Majesty. And again, I am exceedingly sorry for disturbing you. I assure you, I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Anna slipped back into the bedroom, her face now red for a completely different reason, and closed the door behind her. Kristoff stared at her, eyes wide.

“You can just _do_ that?” he asked incredulously.

She shrugged. “Queen’s perks. He wouldn’t have left until he actually saw that I was physically fine. He was really concerned.” A dry laugh slipped through her lips before she added, “He wanted to make sure I wasn’t being assaulted. I actually scolded him a little, told him you would never, and he seemed really embarrassed. But, that said, at least I know they take their jobs seriously.” Reaching the side of the bed, she paused, then sighed heavily as her shoulders sagged. “Well, that killed the mood.”

“Fairly efficiently, I’d say.” He scooted over, lifting the covers on her side of the bed. “Need to cry some more?”

“No,” she said, climbing back in next to him. Once again, she snuggled back up against his side.

“You wanna talk about it?”

For the first time since becoming Queen, Anna finally let go. They talked for hours, past midnight, about everything they both felt. Anna voiced fears of not measuring up, of proving that she was just the spare and only worth of that title. Kristoff responded by saying that he had no idea what a Prince Consort did, but he was sure he’d fuck up something at some point and remind everyone just how far beneath her the Queen had married. Anna countered with her fears that he would someday find himself unhappy and missing the life he’d had before, and to that one, Kristoff replied that while it was true there were aspects of castle life he truly didn't enjoy, he would never be able to be happy without her.

They reminded each other that they loved each other, that their devotion, which ran bone deep, would always be enough to sustain them, so long as they kept listening to each other. Anna would be an amazing Queen because no one loved Arendelle as much as she did, he reminded her, while she stressed that she had a right hook and no problem using it on anyone who wanted to disrespect her husband.

Anna talked about the frustration she felt with her sister, how she was finding it difficult to reconcile that her sister could give up the throne and hand it to Anna, who had never expected to sit on it, with what seemed like so little thought. With a little prodding, she admitted the feeling of selfishness that accompanied it, how she felt terrible for bedrugding her sister finally having the life she was meant to live. She even admitted frustration at her parents, for the things they kept from the sisters, things that might have made life easier, but that were impossible to see that way in the moment, and the guilt she felt at that.

“It’s hard right now,” Kristoff finally said, once she seemed to have worn herself out. “Everything is new and you’re still figuring things out. But you’ve got me, and I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me every day ‘til you die.”

“Nice.”

“I mean it, though. And you’re right to feel the way you do. Feeling frustration with people doesn’t mean you stop loving them, or that you love them any less, at all. And to be honest, if there’s one thing I really hate, it’s seeing you frown.” He brushed his lips over the wrinkles in her forehead, and they smoothed immediately. “You can’t beat yourself up over everything, Anna. I won’t let you. You don’t have to ignore the things that bother you, but you can’t let them be the only thing you think about.”

“I’m just so scared I won’t measure up,” she said, and her voice was a little raspy from talking so long. “What if I let everybody down?”

“When have you _ever_ let everybody down? Who helped Elsa figure out how to unfreeze the kingdom? Who went after her when she went running off to follow a voice? Who was willing to destroy material things to save the living?”

“Arendelle would have been completely wrecked,” she reminded him. “You really think people would have forgiven me for that?”

“I think you underestimate your subjects,” he said, surprising them both. “Elsa loves Arendelle, but not the way you do. They would have understood, and you would have been right there with them, rebuilding from scratch.”

“I guess.” She sighed, eyes dropping heavily.

“You need to sleep,” he murmured. “You’ve got another big day tomorrow.”

“More old guys,” she muttered, but she was already drifting off.

That night, he dreamed. He dreamed of Arendelle, flooded but still somehow managing to thrive. He dreamed of marrying Anna, of snow falling around them as they celebrated. And maybe because of their earlier bath, he dreamed of the meadow he’d taken her to last summer, dreamed of wrapping his arms around her thighs, dreamed of her pushing him back against the scratching bark of a tree to take him in her mouth… 

_It was, by all accounts, an ordinary Tuesday. Elsa was working, meeting with some group or other, and Anna had wandered into the stables and declared herself super bored and in need of some adventure._

_Kristoff had offered her a picnic, instead._

_It had been such a beautiful day, shining sun and a rare lack of work to do on his part, so they’d taken advantage of it. They were fully, beautifully, totally alone in a meadow hidden in trees, far from the road, a place he’d always gone to think and be alone. Now, though, he wasn’t alone, and he was glad for it._

_They swam in a cold mountain creek, splashing each other laughingly, then climbing onto an outcrop of rock to sun themselves dry. They napped a little, ate a little more, feeding each other like the absolute saps they were._

_And throughout the entire day, there was much poking and prodding of all sorts, from tickles to annoyed jabs to Kristoff’s fingers in her tight, wet warmth._

_He had been running back down to the creek, sure he could beat her there, but some burst of energy had propelled her forward, allowing her to leap onto his back._

_“I’ve got you now,” she’d teased, sliding down, her hands going from his shoulders, down his arms to hold his hands. “Come on.”_

_Her mouth was like heaven. The sight of her on her knees made his head spin and he watched as she bobbed her head back and forth, watching his erection slip in and out…_

_In and out…_

_In…_

_Out…_

Was it a dream? Had it ever been? What did he ever do to deserve _this?_

Looking down, he saw the reason why he’d been having that dream, at least in such vivid detail. Only little light filtered into Anna’s chamber. The winter days meant later sunrises, and he guessed it was sometime around six from the predawn glow. That glow used to mean it was time to get up and sneak back to a bedroom for one or the other when they’d fallen asleep on each other.

Not so much these days.

At some point, he’d rolled onto his back, and his arm was thrown up over his head as he blinked himself awake, lifting his head slightly. Anna was watching him closely and he was sure, if she hadn’t had a mouthful of his cock, that she would have been smirking at him. She didn’t seem in any hurry, her motions as languid as they had been that warm afternoon. One of his hands had already found her hair, and he relaxed against the pillows as he felt her motions beneath his digits.

Eventually, once he’d hardened to the point where he was a few minutes from coming into the welcoming heat of her mouth and over her magical tongue, she pulled away, one hand rising from his thigh to stroke him as she lifted up, climbing back on top of him and pressing her lips lazily against his. He could taste the musky tang of himself on her, and he groaned.

Then she was grinning down at him, and he could see from the way she rubbed at her eye with her free hand that she hadn’t been awake that long, herself. “Good morning,” she said, voice huskier than it had been the night before, sleep and arousal invading her tone.

“Good morning.” His hand trailed down her back, over her pert backside, hips shifting to allow it to travel between them. He watched as her blue eyes fluttered when he fingered softly at her mound. A little gasp, almost inaudible, and she was biting her lips again. He could feel that her inner thighs were already coated with her slick juices. “What were you dreaming about?”

“You,” she said simply, shuddering against him when he slid his middle finger into her.

“What was I doing to you?”

Her eyes, which had closed when he crooked his long finger inside her, opened to reveal only a little of the blue he so loved, replaced by the blue he lusted after, that thin ring of ocean blue around a black sphere. Her lids were still hooded as she whispered, “You were fucking me.”

One quick motion had her flipped over on her back, legs spread below him as he ground the heel of his hand against her clit while he angled his wrist to find a deeper angle. The gentle motion of her hand sped up as she gasped below him.

“Tell me,” he growled, suddenly feeling as combustible as a bomb.

“We were like this.” Her voice was breathless, hips rolling as she ground up into him. “We were married and…” Her voice cut off, making way for a low moan of pleasure when he curled his finger again, finding the place that was so deeply buried she had never been able to reach it herself, or so she said.

“Keep talking.” His voice sounded alien to himself, almost as if he was possessed.

He supposed he was, in a way. Anna was enough to make him feel like he was dipping a toe into a pool of insanity.

“You had me on my hands and knees on the bed and you were…” She grunted, shifting her position so that she could work his erection a bit faster, her own saliva that remained allowing the motion. “God, you were just pounding me and it felt so _good…”_ Her head back for a moment before she opened her eyes again, giving him a mischievous smile. “I was so hot when I woke up, I thought I was imagining how hard you were.” Kristoff could feel the tables turning a second too late when she asked, “What were _you_ dreaming about?”

His hand paused and he blinked. “What…” 

“That wasn’t just, you know, _morning,”_ she giggled. “You were dreaming about something.” She twisted her wrist just so, and he saw stars for a minute before he could answer.

“That day in the mountains when we took that picnic.”

Anna hummed beneath him. “That was a good day,” she said, her voice thick. “We’ll have to go back there sometime.” How was she thinking straight right now? He could feel the little tremors around him, and he inserted the fingers on either side of his middle one into her. “We should… oh, God, Kristoff, _there…”_

His lips found her neck, making his way lower—when had her nightgown come off?—to find her breast and capture it in his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that it was closer to seven than he’d realized. Kai would be here soon to wake her, and he’d like to be gone by then.

“We don’t have a whole lot of time,” he ground out. “Do you need…”

“Just keep going.” Her voice was as desperate as the look on her face. “Don’t stop, honey.”

Sure that he was closer at this point than he was, desperate to release with her, he leaned down. The motion pressed her further into the blankets, pinning down her torso and making her cry out softly. Then, he got an idea. 

His fingers slid free of her body with a squelch, and he quickly guided her onto her front. Once again, she knew where he was going, and she lifted herself onto all fours. Her perfect ass lifted for him, knees spreading to reveal her swollen folds, and he grunted as he slid three fingers back in, letting his palm slap against her soft, pale skin as he fucked her with his fingers. 

“Was it like this?” he whispered.

“Yes, but…” He loved it when she was so far gone she couldn’t answer a sentence.

“But better, wasn’t it? Because my cock inside you.” A whimper escaped, and she nodded weakly. Doing his best to focus, he kept talking, knowing it would quicken her release. “I know how much you want it, baby, I really do. Do you believe me?”

“Yes,” she whined, her voice strained as she began to shake. 

“Three weeks, Anna,” he groaned. “Give me three weeks and I swear, I’ll make that dream come true. I’m not gonna be able to keep my hands off you, and it’s already hard enough. And I’ll give you everything, baby. Everything you want, however you want it.”

“Oh, God, Kristoff…” Her head hung low between her arms, and he finally spit into his palm before firmly grasping his throbbing erection. “I’m there, honey, come with me.”

He lived for this. Somehow, he managed to keep his eyes on her as wave after wave rolled over her, soft mewls slipping from her lips as she tried to keep her volume down. She thrashed before him, and he felt himself tumbling after, releasing onto her back and ass with a low moan of his own.

They collapsed, red faced and gasping for breath, and he managed to find her lips, pressing them to hers once more.

“Love you,” she whispered.

“Love you, too.”

Some minutes later, after he’d fetched a damp cloth to clean them up before collapsing again in the bed, he felt her fingers tracing up and down his spine as he tried not to fall back asleep.

“I can’t wait to marry you,” she whispered again, this time with a very different tone in her voice. There were no tears, and she sounded almost dreamy. Her lips followed her fingers in a way that was more comforting than seductive. “Make me one more promise?”

“Anything.” He blinked himself back awake, craning his neck around.

“I promise to take care of Arendelle,” she said, her blue eyes warm, “if you promise to take care of me. I have a feeling I’m going to need some help there.”

“Do you feel better this morning?” Rolling onto his back, he caught her hand with his and pulled her fingers to his lips to bid them good morning.

“I think I do,” she said, and she sounded thoughtful. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what a Prince Consort does, either. Mattias just said it was the title with the most precedent. He also said you can turn it down, if you want to.”

“Really?” He blinked.

“There’s no precedent for that,” Anna replied, rolling her eyes and smirking, “but there’s not a long history of commoners marrying a sovereign queen. Mattias assured me that it’s not usually the case that anyone would turn it down, on the rare chance it even comes up.”

“What do you want?”

Anna’s lips pulled to one side as she considered her anser. “I want to reiterate, it’s _your_ choice, not mine,” she said firmly. “I’m being completely serious when I say this, but I order you, as your Queen, to will make your choice based on what you want, not me.”

“Okay.” The word came out in a long, drawn out sound of apprehension.

“I hope you take it,” she said, and he noticed that this was concertedly not an order. It was as simple of a statement as if she had said the rug was green. “I think there’s a lot you have to offer Arendelle, and it’s not like you’d be doing anything differently with or without the title. I’m still putting you in charge of a few things.”

“Anna…”

“Ice and infrastructure,” she said firmly, and he blinked. “I know nothing about infrastructure. I lived my whole life cooped up in a castle, so any road is a good road for me. Getting anywhere is a success. I am not equipped to give orders on anything like that, and unlike Elsa, I never had any education on the matter. That said, anything that you decide, any decisions you make,” she continued, and she was definitely smirking, “still have to go through me. And nobody can deny that you have to take over the ice trade. Put the two together, and we’ll have more money rolling in than ever. And you’ve been griping about the roads for as long as I’ve known you.”

It was true. The same back roads that made him scowl with displeasure were happy trails to someplace else for her. He’d had opinions, and more than once, he’d bent Elsa’s ear on the matter, surprised to find a few weeks later that his thoughts had been magically turned into actions.

“I’m tasking you with that no matter what.” Anna was still speaking, and he listened closely. “The title would just make your job easier. You can stay Lord Kristoff and deal with Lord So-And-So giving you hell because he’s the same rank as you, and he can because he’s an ass, or you can be His Royal Highness,” and now she sat up, looking like a proud pupil with the correct answer, “Prince Kristoff, Consort to the Queen of Arendelle, and tell Lord So-And-So to shove it. You’d be directly under me and answer only to me.”

“Directly under you, huh?” He grinned when she rolled her eyes again. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It wouldn’t be,” she vowed. “You don’t have to get dressed up every day. You can still spend all day outside with Sven, working for weeks at a time, you just won’t get paid the same.” Her eyes sparkled.

“What about favors?” Kristoff worked hard to keep a straight face. “Can I have special favors from the Queen?”

Anna feigned consideration. “I could consider it.” She tapped her chin. “What kind of favors are you thinking about?”

The sound of her tinkling laughter as he crushed her to his chest made his heart swell. Part of him wanted to list any of the number of things married folks could do, but as it had off and on for so many years, something else came to the forefront.

Something that, for years, had terrified him. Something he wasn’t sure, still, if he would be any good at, but something at which, his family insisted, he’d always thrived.

“Give me babies,” he mumbled against her hair. “I just want a family with you. I want a _life_ with you.”

There was a beat of silence before Anna abruptly sat up, swinging her bare legs over the side of the bed. “You have to go.”

“Anna?” Fuck, had he ruined this? He grasped lighty at her wrist, and though she could have easily broken free, she stayed sitting on the edge of the bed. “Honey, I’m sorry, I thought—”

“You have to go,” she clarified, turning to regard him with a cocked brow and a laugh, “because if you stay, we’re not going to make it to our wedding night without me waking you up in the middle of the night and going full seduction mode on you. You can’t just say shit like that to a girl,” she continued, rolling her eyes in teasing exasperation despite her deep blush. “Give you _babies?”_ she repeated. “A life? I’m trying to keep it in my pants, Bjorgman, and that doesn’t help.” 

Kristoff burst out laughing at this, not having expected that to be her response, and the waves of hilarity that washed over him were too powerful to stop. To his further amusement, Anna just shook her head as she rose from the bed.

“Out,” she ordered again, chucking his clothes at him.

“What if I refuse?”

Anna gave him an arched look. “I’ll call the guard.”

“I’ll put on pants.”

In under five minutes, he was stepping out into the hall, straightening the vest he had been wearing the day before, fully expecting to see one of the guards, but stopping short at the sight of Mattias, in addition to the usual morning guard, the tall dark skinned man, the same one Anna usually had placed when she wanted to intimidate anyone. He was as tall and as broad as Kristoff, thighs like the trunks of small trees with fingers like sausages. The joke was that, though he had a glare that could scare away any enemy, he was one of the gentlest of souls.

A small smile quirked his lips now as Kristoff stood still for a moment, confused by the presence of two men.

“Uh…” Kristoff glanced at Mattias, then over his shoulder.

“I’m here for you, sir,” Mattias said, and his voice was even, lacking any tone of judgement. “I assume Her Majesty has filled you in on what are to be your duties. I thought it would be useful for you and I to spend the day going over everything, just to ensure you’re fully prepared.”

“Uh, yeah.” Kristoff rubbed at the back of his neck. “I just, uh, just need to get dressed.”

Mattias blinked and gave him a once over, only then seeming to recognize yesterday’s tunic. “Oh. I guess I just thought…” He shook his head, seeming a little embarrassed. “I didn’t realize. My apologies, sir.”

“It’s fine.” Kristoff spoke quickly, not really sure how he felt having this conversation, but undeniably a little curious. “I just figured you’d know that.”

“How would I know about that?”

Kristoff gestured to the other soldier, and the guard laughed outright.

“I assure you, sir, _nobody_ knows about that, but myself and the Queen.” The warm smile that softened the guard’s face relaxed Kristoff, just a little. “We aren’t known to gossip. It could reflect badly on our beloved Queen to do so, and we’ve—”

“Taken a vow, yeah.” Kristoff looked between the still befuddled Mattias and the guard. “So you don’t report her activities to the General automatically?”

“No, sir.” The guard gave him a small nod. “For that matter, sir, we also don’t report yours.”

“No need to.” Mattias seemed to be more or less himself again. “You’re really pretty boring, sir.”

As the pair of them walked down the hall toward his room, Kristoff shook his head. “You’ve got to stop calling me that.”

“I can’t, sir. You’re a Lord of Arendelle and the Queen’s betrothed.”

“Yeah, but he’s not saying anything,” he reminded Mattias, and Kristoff heard the guard laugh again.

“Fine. But only when there’s no one in ear shot.”

And so it began.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I plan back to back bathtime fics? Nope. Am I sorry? Not in the slightest. 
> 
> As to what a Prince Consort would do, I'm not sure. So he's got a job, kind of styled after Prince Albert's need to build things. And Victoria and Albert are one of my favorite real historical couples, so I used them. 
> 
> I could see there being at least another one or two of these, so if you liked them so far, keep an eye out. There’s more little things sprinkled around I think I could work with, and I’m sure going back to work in a few weeks will test the limits of my sanity in a whole new way, so I’ll need the stress relief.
> 
> Go forth and be happy!


End file.
